


Season One

by Meredith (Darraika)



Series: Invictus [1]
Category: EVE Online
Genre: Original Character(s), POV Female Character, Space Battles, Space Flight, Space Opera, Space Stations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-07 05:20:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18403934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darraika/pseuds/Meredith
Summary: A scientist-turned-space captain comes to terms with the death of her father who taught her everything he knew about piloting and surviving in New Eden while trying to keep her crew and ship in one piece -- and still complete the missions given to them by their employer.





	Season One

**Author's Note:**

> This started as just loose conversations and the occasional in character "RP" while out on mining fleets or while waiting for tidi to resolve itself in bigger fleets. Eventually, the story telling turned to actually laying down a fan series. In RL, I also write for a living so it was a natural leap to make to go from just telling the story in corp chat to actually putting it down into words.
> 
> I also exist in character when I'm logged in, and I don't mind random mails from others.
> 
> I also won't refuse ISK if this tickles your fancy enough ;)

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining colony T1**  
**March 1st, YC102**

The storm raged and blanketed the dome protecting the small colony with ice and snow. No one paid any attention. It had ceased to be that special. It did it every single day, and the nights were sometimes worse.

Other times, the wind stopped. The clouds cleared.

The stars shone above and the moons sat heavy on the horizon.

Only during these times did the colonists bother to take notice of the sky above them.

It was on one of these nights that a man’s body lay, frozen solid, on the outside of the dome. His mouth open in an eternally silent scream, arm outstretched on a crack in the dome.

New screams filled the air, and sirens blared as men and women scooped up their children and took shelter within their homes, sealing their shelters from the possibility of the colony’s air being vented out into the frozen wastes and the freezing winds being unleashed within.

A man stood alone, tapping his arm as he frowned while staring out one of the few windows to the colony and up at the crack. Finally, he turned around and opened a link to one of the citadels above.

* * *

 

**_Invictus._ **

_A name meaning hope,_  
_From the fires of death and failure_  
_Comes this new beginning._  
_The phoenix out of the ashes._  
_A lone beacon in the night._  
_The final shadow descending on tyranny._

* * *

 

**ACT ONE**

* * *

 

**Sinq Liaison/Nexus/Bourynes VII—Moon 2**  
**Caille University Station**  
**March 10th, YC102**

The stack of papers to grade were no longer actually physical but sat on servers and in data pads. In many ways, this was a blessing as Meredith’s desk would have been covered in essays and research papers. She leaned back, a data pad in hand and a cup of coffee in the other, her glasses at the shoved up and onto the top of her head instead of on her nose.

As the years passed, her glasses—which she actually did need to see—had grown obtrusive instead of helpful.

It wasn’t a surprise.

Middle age was creeping up on her, with all that it meant.

There was a bit of good mixed in with the bad. Meredith no longer had to scrimp and search for choice bits of research or fill in for regular professors at the University.

She was an associate professor at Caille. This afforded her a generous stipend, benefits, and a job doing exactly what she had always wanted to do.

However, on the flip side of things were the signs of age as it slowly crept up on her.

Her eyes, for one. She needed bifocals to read as reading took one prescription and to see farther than that, as normal, required another. She was much like her father and refused to…

Meredith put her data pad down and took in a deep breath.

It had been months since her father’s funeral.

And it still hurt.

No distraction or reward seemed to fill in that gnawing sense of guilt.

Her communications link chimed.

Meredith wiped her eyes, and slid her glasses back down so they rested on her nose before hitting the accept button. The screen was filled with the image of a man, one she had never had the pleasure of meeting even if she was familiar with the Society of Conscious Thought. “How can I help you?” she asked.

“Professor en Thielles, it’s a pleasure to finally get a chance to speak to you. You came highly recommended.”

“Associate Professor,” she corrected, shaking her head. “Not a full professor yet.”

“Only a matter of time, I’m sure,” he said. “My name is Jarvis Cipher, and I work with the Society of Conscious Thought as a logistics and administrative professional. I was asked to reach out to you with a job offer.”

“I’m not for hire,” answered Meredith, frowning. “I’m not sure who told you I would be, but I stopped doing that kind of thing after my father died and my daughter was born.”

“So they said,” he admitted, and he shrugged. “Nevertheless, the same sources assured me that you are the person we need for this. I am prepared to offer you a generous stipend—more so than the one you get at Caille—and not require the usual agreement that requires you leave your other place of employment. Quite the contrary, you can continue to work for them. I am familiar with the fact that Caille University allows its professors, especially those with research that could be done elsewhere, to take short working leaves of absences. We would be quite happy to work around that.”

Meredith paused. It was an unusual offer. SoCT was well known for requiring almost absolute and irrevocable non-compete clauses to work for them, even as a contractor. The allowance for her was unheard of.

“You’ve piqued my curiosity.”

“Could we then perhaps meet somewhere… more neutral?”

“Somewhere not Gallente, I take it?” she asked, lifting a brow.

“Someplace not so close to Amarr space,” he answered. “For both of our sakes.”

Meredith leaned forward. “Now you’ve got my interest. Say when and where.”

* * *

 

**The Forge/Ihatalo/Reisen VI**  
**Creodon Factory Station**  
**The Invictus**  
**March 10th, YC102**

“I know what you’re going to say and you don’t have to.”

The Commander, and executive officer, of the Invictus was a petite but muscular woman of Brutor descent named Gina Egivand. The other was also Minmatar. V’lojiek Anstian was older than Gina by at least a decade but had worked with the younger Minmatar ever since she had quite literally fallen into the same employ as him.

He had no idea why she had been in the ventilation shafts above him—the entire idea seemed daft—but they had given way. Gina had landed on the table where he had been playing cards with another pilot, a Gurista whose name wasn’t important anymore for a few different reasons.

The first one was that he had been in the middle of drawing his gun when Gina shot him in the head.

The rest just wasn’t important.

“When did you learn to read minds?” he asked as he stepped the rest of the way onto the cramped bridge of the cruiser.

While the cruiser’s bridge was roomy enough to accommodate the people it needed to, in some places it was still cramped enough that he needed to bend over. The forward spots, where the pilots sat, and close to navigation were the two most cramped. The rest was just roomy enough to allow two people to slide past.

Gina usually took up one of the pilot seats, but her role as x-o sometimes had her all over the place or even in the captain’s seat as needed. The bridge was more of a cockpit on a destroyer or frigate than a real bridge like on a battleship, or even other cruisers.

The problem was that the Invictus was light on space simply because of what she had on her for fits. The Minmatar built Loki-class strategic cruiser had capabilities that other cruisers didn’t, and couldn’t dream of having. Those required the space that would normally be reserved for crew or cargo.

Not that her cargo hold was skimpy.

It wasn’t.

“We’ve been sitting in dock, in a shiny new ship, for over a week since the incident we’re technically supposed to be transporting that anxious looking fellow to investigate. Where’s this captain that our employers are looking for?” said Gina. “That about right?”

“Okay, fine, you did know what I was going to ask but I share his concerns.”

“As do I,” said Gina. “But traipsing through a section of null sec that is currently being hotly contested into a high sec pocket owned by SoCT isn’t exactly easy and our crew being incomplete doesn’t exactly help. We’ve got the ship, but we need a few more things than that.”

The communications chimed and Gina hit the key. “Jarvis, just the person we were looking for,” said V’lojiek.

“I have good news. Recall the rest of your crew. Your captain should be arriving within moments,” said Jarvis. “Here is what little we can provide as the rest is classified by both Gallente and Caldari. She comes highly recommended.”

“Professor Meredith en Thielles of the Caille University Astrogeology and Geophysics branch?” asked Gina, her eyebrows lifting. “Are you serious, Jarvis?”

“I promise you that it is only a small part of her training but that scientific, and analytic, mind will fit in perfectly,” said Jarvis, and he smiled slightly. “The rest will present itself as the situation requires. Captain en Thielles is discreet and has a good head for command. She comes by it honestly, according to my Caldari contacts.”

The communication dropped and Gina and V’lojiek looked at each other. “Since when does an obvious Gallente work for the Caldari State, and get to keep their Gallente card?” asked Gina.

“Got me,” said V’lojiek, and then leaned forward as he traced the picture with his index finger. “Look at her cheekbones.”

“What about them?”

“They’re Deteis. Our new Gallente Captain is half Caldari.”

* * *

 

**The Forge/Ihatalo/Reisen VI**  
**Creodon Factory Station**  
**March 12th, YC102**

The ship, a Caldari shuttle, landed gently on the floor of the landing bay reserved for tiny ships like it. Other ships—corvettes, frigates, and other shuttles—were also lined up and tugged in and out of place by anti-grav train ‘tugs’. This one was settled into its place, and only then did the landing gear descend and the shuttle power down. A boarding ramp descended, and numerous passengers disembarked.

Meredith paused as took a breath.

While Reisen was still technically a part of high sec, and guarded heavily by Concord, it was close to low sec and contested space.

A no man’s zone between the Caldari State and the Minmatar Republic, two major factions who were normally not at war with each other. Both of them preferred to expend their energy, and lives, to fighting one of the other two major factions. In the case of the Caldari, it was the Gallente Federation—her home, nominally, as her mother had been Intaki. Her father had been Deteis—Caldari like those in this station—and it showed even if her hair was dark instead of the fairer side of the spectrum.

She knew it was because of her very Deteis cheekbones and facial structure that she was allowed to walk around. The war between the Caldari State and Gallente Federation was old—started before she had been born—and both sides equally dug into their respective beliefs on who was right.

Her father had always tried to avoid it, and had sometimes even managed to stay mostly out of it.

This had meant being disowned by his own family, and that still hurt as Meredith had yet to actually meet her grandparents on her father’s side of the family.

It was the primary reason she still used her mother’s surname, despite some issues there too, instead of her father’s.

She took a breath, and then walked the rest of the way into the station until she found the hotel she would stay in for the next few days.

The Creodon Station was one meant for factory workers. While the hotel had nicer rooms for visiting company higher ups, most of the rooms were meant for those with a far lower budget. This didn’t bother Meredith a bit, and within minutes of checking in she had settled into her room, which was little more than what she would have as quarters on a cruiser or battleship.

A bunk was set into the wall for her to sleep, and the room was no bigger than five paces wide by ten long. The bathroom, such as it was, was big enough to be able to stand in without going to the bathroom, taking a shower or brushing her teeth but not by much. The view out of the window was of the docking bay for larger ships, and showed the steady stream of ships coming and going.

Meredith dropped her bag onto the bunk and dialed the contact code for the agent from SoCT that had paid her way here.

It didn’t take long for Jarvis to answer.

“Professor, I have the arrival listing here. I trust the room is satisfactory? I know it’s not nearly as well appointed as the apartment you have at Caille…”

“It’s fine,” answered Meredith.

“Are you sure?”

“Quite.”

He relaxed marginally. “Ah, good then. Unfortunately, we do not have stations of our own and require renting them. However, we do have little outposts. I would like to arrange, for the next leg of your journey, a shuttle here so we can meet in person.”

“But?”

“A situation has come up that requires your attention, in the role we had in mind for you, a bit sooner. Our mutual friend within the Caldari State would have preferred that you meet with us so he could personally fill you in, but that will have to wait.”

“A Caldari agent mutual friend, by any chance?” asked Meredith, lifting a brow and she sighed as he had the grace to look sheepish in answer. “Ah, of course. I should have known he’d find a way to call in that favour.”

Jarvis looked uncomfortable for a moment. “I don’t think he meant it that way. He saw it as the reverse.”

“You talk to him, do you?” asked Meredith.

“Sometimes,” answered Jarvis. “He has… regrets.”

“So do I.”

* * *

 

**The Forge/Ihatalo/Reisen VI**  
**Creodon Factory Station**  
**The _Invictus_**  
**March 12th, YC102**

The blast doors to the bridge opened, and Meredith stood just outside that final line between the corridor and the cramped bridge. Each station had someone in it, and the bridge was busy enough. She stepped through, and a Minmatar woman looked up, her eyebrows raising.

Instantly she straightened, saluted, and called out loudly enough to be heard, “Captain on the bridge!”

The hive of activity, although attention remained where it had to be, stopped as Meredith walked to the captain’s seat. “As you were,” she said, looking over at the other woman. “Commander Egivand, I take it?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she answered, as she held out her hand to shake Meredith’s.

Once they had, Gina turned back to the bridge. “Don’t let the cramped quarters fool you, the _Invictus_ is a hardy ship.”

“Most strat cruisers are,” admitted Meredith. “You been on this one long?”

Gina snorted. “Hardly. No one has. She’s too new. The class of ship is too new—not even supposed to be in the hands of anyone but Minmatar Fleet.”

Meredith held in the sigh that she had been tempted to release. A new crew, completely unfamiliar with each other, and an unfamiliar ship. What was Jarvis thinking? She wondered. The sigh was difficult to suppress.

“Well, hopefully our next mission is a shakedown cruise,” she said.

“Did the captain want to settle in first?”

“The captain already did—my duffel is already in my quarters and I’ve already unpacked it. I’ve already checked out engineering, gunnery and a few other places. She looks as good to go as she’ll ever be,” answered Meredith as she sat in the captain’s chair. “Unless we have a few last minute stragglers?”

“No ma’am,” answered Gina, grinning. “When they said you’d be here at oh-two hundred sharp, V’lo made sure that the crew knew that meant be ready to depart at oh-two hundred. All you need to do is say the word.”

Meredith smiled slightly. Gina, I like you already, she thought.

“Consider it given,” said Meredith. “Where is my new executive officer?”

Gina’s grin widened. “Probably making sure things are up to speed.” She turned to the front of the bridge and a whistle cut through the air as the all call on the ship activated. “Attention all crew and passengers. Please make sure all items and limbs are properly set for flight. If it’s loose and it hits your head, that’s on you. The Invictus will be leaving dock in less than five. Commander Anstian to the bridge.”

Meredith waited until Gina was done, and the sense of the ship floating in the docking bay as the artificial gravity of the station released it ran under her feet. For a moment, a cup floated a centimeter above the edge of an arm on one of the bridge seats where it had been left. Then the Invictus’s own gravity systems kicked in, and the cup fell to the floor.

Gina looked from Meredith—who had an eyebrow raised—to the cup and the puddle of coffee on the floor and then to the sheepish navigator who had left it there. “Next time, Jay, when I say make sure things are ready to fly, I damn well mean it,” said a man’s voice as he entered the bridge.

“Sorry, Commander. I’m used to caps.”

“Remember for the next time we leave dock,” said Meredith, and she opened her own comm. “Station C&C, this is Captain en Thielles of the _Invictus_. Requesting permission and clearance for undock.”

“ _Invictus_ , this is C&C, you are clear for undock in the next available window. Please check that umbilicals are secured away and that docking clamps have been released.”

“Check, C&C, the _Invictus_ is a go for undock.”

“Acknowledged, _Invictus_.”

Gina took a breath and sighed, and Meredith fought the urge to tap her foot against the edge of her seat. This was always the hard part when undocking—those few minutes between relying on station air before needing to use their own hull, armour, and shields against the frozen dark outside of it.

“ _Invictus_ , release any gravitational braking if you already haven’t done so, the tug is ready,” came the C&C’s voice.

Meredith looked over at Jay, and he nodded in confirmation. “Acknowledged, C&C. We have released our tractoring and braking, and await the tug.”

A small change in how things moved—as if they had been pulled out of where they hovered by a giant hand—was all of them felt but it fell away moments later as the sense of movement faded into the background. The ship was pulled, and then pushed, by the tiny tug shuttle until out of the cramped docking space. Once in the launch channel within the station, Jay took over and the engines came on, the thrum of them vibrating underneath her feet as all of the _Invictus_ ’s systems turned live.

The view outside what viewports they had changed from inside of the station to space, and they pushed through the shielding keeping the station air inside. Jay piloted the ship until they were past the landing lights of the station.

“ _Invictus_ , this is C&C, you have passed our safety limit and are flying free. Fly safe, Captain.”

“C&C, this is _Invictus_ ,” said Meredith. “Thanks for having us.”

* * *

 

**The Forge/Ihatalo/Reisen VI**  
**Creodon Factory Station**  
**March 12th, YC102**

The man wasn’t exceptionally tall, but he was very thin. Age had made him even more thin than he had been years ago. While the years had not been very many, sometimes they felt like an eternity. He wasn’t given to maudlin moments, but seeing the Invictus leave dock and then disappear into warp was enough for a bit of the melancholy that part of his bloodline was known for.

He was one of the very few, perhaps only, experiments with crossing the Jove with another type of human. In his case, Caldari—Deteis, to be exact. The cheekbones and pale complexions, the fair hair and pale eyes, was perfect to hide what would have been painfully obvious in another bloodline. It wasn’t perfect. There were still those who found his silver blue eyes, nearly white instead of blue, unsettling and a bit too alien for a man with only humans for parents, even if part of that humanity had genetically bent their DNA to the breaking point and back.

But the half-Jove was getting old.

And while he may have had brothers or sisters at one point in time, he knew he was the last now—the last of his brothers now was in a morgue on the very planet the Invictus had been sent to.

“Sir, the _Invictus_ has left,” said his assistant, Jarvis Cipher, as he walked into the office.

“I am well aware of that, Mr. Cipher,” he answered. “Were you successful in getting the captain I had recommended?”

“She was reluctant, but yes—Professor en Thielles decided to accept our offer in the end,” answered Jarvis. “You could have told her yourself, you know, I think it would have done some good if you had.”

He looked up at Jarvis. “I doubt it. I am not the man she needs to hear it from.”

* * *

 

**ACT TWO**

* * *

 

**The Forge/Aulari/Oijanen**  
**Oijanen to BWF-ZZ Stargate**  
**The _Invictus_**  
**March 12th, YC102**

Meredith leaned forward in the command chair, staring at the stargate. It had been years since she had been in any part of nullsec, let alone an area with an alliance of very independent pilots.

Nullsec was an area of space outside of CONCORD reach. The pilots and people who found refuge in null were either on the run from CONCORD or any of the four major nations in New Eden, or were disillusioned with their lives in them. Those who had not been able to make their way in the well—some said too—established Gallente, Amarr, Caldari, or Minmatar space. With no room for growth in either personal wealth or position, this led them into new and unnamed parts of space.

The gates past this point were not the best—the technology was old and scavenged, sometimes outright stolen.

“Anything on any of our channels about what lies past this point?” asked Meredith, as she leaned over Jay’s station on the bridge.

“Nothing in any of the forums or rumour mills about anything that would bother this ship,” he answered, and he looked up. “Nothing beyond the usual.”

“If you’re worried about a warp bubble,” pointed out V’lojiek. “Then you don’t have to.”

“I get that we cloak…”

“We have an interdiction nullifier,” finished V’lojiek, and Meredith’s eyes rose. Her executive officer smiled a tiny bit. “Basically means that any non targeted warp interdiction won’t disrupt the drive.”

“What about targeted?” asked Meredith.

“Well, if they manage to target it, then we may have an issue but they’d have to be faster than us with the afterburners going,” said V’lojiek, and he shook his head. “Cloak on coming out of the gate, and they won’t get that chance… and with the nullifier, anything else won’t stop us either.”

“Our employers also gave us a pre-scouted list of bookmarks that will negate needing to align. You could warp off a freighter almost instantly on coming out of the gates all the way there,” pointed out Jay, and then he grinned. “Part of the perks of working with the Society and heading straight to their space.”

“All right, plot a course but stay on top of it, Jay. Don’t get us smartbombed, warp in at two hundred clicks on each one. If anyone has a camp anywhere, if they see us but blow their traps early,” said Meredith. “Otherwise, we have the advantage of warning.”

“No autopilot, got it,” he said and slid a hand over the console.

The ship shuddered as the stargates tractors took hold, and then the view of space contorted, vanished into what the naked eye translated as clouds but was actually a warp bubble so compressed that space wasn’t visible, not that it mattered. Gate travel shot them through space so quickly between gates that wasn’t possible to see space. There was something far more technical to explain gate travel, outside of that it had to be paired from one gate to another.

Within seconds of entering one gate, they exited the other and the clouds dissipated, leaving only the view of normal space.

Gate travel also allowed a few short moments where a ship, even one without cloak, remained in cloak long enough for the crew to get their bearings and initiate the next leg of their journey.

This was also the most dangerous part of the whole trip.

Pirates often laid in wait with a device that could create a field that would prevent a ship from entering warp, forcing that ship to move at sublight speed. If they had other ships that could ‘tackle’ a ship, their sublight speed would also drop to nil.

Killing the hapless ship and crew would be simple after that.

Normally.

Sometimes the gate campers, as these pirates who used this tactic were called, bit off more than they could chew if that ship, and the crew, was more than combat capable and ready.

Let alone prepared with a ship that could ignore the warp bubble entirely, cloak before a target lock could be acquired, and either leave or spring its own trap plus have a pre-set of ‘instant warp’ leads which negated the need to align at all.

Meredith wasn’t neither in the mood for a possible fight, nor did she have time. Her mission was to get the investigator for SoCT from high sec to the colony in Geminate, and that was exactly what she would do with no stops between.

In this case, there was no gate camp. No warp bubble.

“Jay, take us to that next gate and keep your eyes open. Just because this gate didn’t have a camp, doesn’t mean the next won’t.”

“Aye, ma’am.”

* * *

 

**The Forge/Ihatalo/Reisen VI**  
**Creodon Factory Station**  
**March 13th, YC102**

Once the direct contact for the Society of Conscious Thought, and by extension the Jovians themselves, had left there was little for anyone to do. Business as usual descended on the offices. For this, Jarvis was actually quite appreciative.

“The _Invictus_ reports that they have left low-sec, and are into the depths of null,” said his own assistant as she walked across the room to hand him a datapad. “So far, they have not encountered any actual resistance.”

“Much as I hate to say it, I suspect that it will change,” he said, taking the datapad. “Keep me updated. I want to know the minute they are actually in Society space.”

“Should I put the drop fleet on alert?”

“Always have a drop fleet on alert,” pointed out Jarvis, handing the datapad back. “Even if they aren’t responding to the _Invictus_ , there will be other instances where their swift response will be needed. Now, about this business with the Servant Sisters of Eve.”

“They haven’t found anything yet,” answered his assistant. “But our partnership with them is strained.”

Jarvis pinched his nose and sighed. “I am hoping that between Captain en Thielles and her crew that it will change.”

His assistant tilted her head and continued to read. “Oh, I see. Two members of the crew are friendly with the SOE, including Professor en Thielles.”

“She did work with them a few years back,” said Jarvis. “As did Ms. Egivand. If I’m not mistaken, they were on the same project, if different ships. That could work to our advantage. However, knowing SOE they will be a bit over eager to step into our territory to do it themselves. Keep an eye on them as well. Perhaps see if there are some independents willing to work for us rather than them.”

“Should I authorize our agents to give out contracts around New Eden, then?”

“A few of them, yes,” answered Jarvis. “For a little while.”

“What of the _Invictus_?” asked his assistant.

“Our employers have decided that we will be their primary contact. Only missions coming from me,” he answered. “Which means only missions from him. For now. It could change in the future.”

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/FDZ4-A IX - Moon 6**  
**The _Invictus_**  
**March 13th, YC102**

“I’m still not sure what I should call you,” said V’lojiek as he followed her through the ship.

“Everyone else seems to have settled on ‘captain’,” pointed out Meredith, stopping to look back at him. “I’m curious as to why you would feel differently.”

“You wear it awkwardly, like the hat doesn’t fit,” he answered, crossing his arms. “You hesitate each time someone calls you Captain, even when your name is attached to it. You flinch over it. That tells me that you either haven’t been one for very long, or you have been one for long enough for the fabric to wear thin.”

Meredith blinked for a moment, long enough for V’lojiek to realize that he was right. _Perhaps too right. If that’s the case, then this could go to pot really fast_ , he thought. _It’s clear she has some experience. Something hardened her… something brutal_.

_But that same something is the reason she cringes_ …

“Do you think I’m gun shy?” she asked.

“Gun shy?” He leaned back. “Yeah, maybe.”

“You’re absolutely correct.”

He blinked and then sucked in a breath.

… _Dammit, I hate being right_.

“I suppose you’re not going to tell me either.”

“Absolutely not,” she answered, pointing a graceful index finger at him—her natural hand, not the cybernetic one. “If you have doubts to my ability to command, you should have brought them up before we undocked and left high sec.”

“If I have doubts,” he began, and put a hand on the back of her chair. “They are more like had. I think you can—and I think this mission is exactly that push into it. I don’t really appreciate being a nurse maid, though.”

“Take that up with our mutual employer then.” She shook her head. “I’m here for the same reason. The money is good, the ship is capable, the crew has a great record… and our employers felt I was the right person for the job.”

He grinned suddenly, and tilting his head to the side. “Wouldn’t be the first time they were wrong, but maybe they were right.”

“Oh?” she asked. “Why is that?”

“Because you don’t want a nursemaid anymore than I want to be one,” he answered. “You’re gun shy, all right, but you have kick still left in you. I won’t ask what made you that way. We all have wounds, Meredith.”

“I killed my own father.”

V’lojiek blinked and then he leaned back, his eyes widening. “What?”

“I didn’t hold a gun on him, or shoot him, or anything like that,” she answered, clenching the fist of her cybernetic arm. “But I may as well have.”

She turned to face V’lojiek, pointing at him with the metal finger this time. He found his gaze pulled to it.

At any time, if she forget her strength or that those fingers were titanium alloy with other metals to make it hard, light, but still somewhat flexible, and chose to use that hand to punch with or grab him with then there was little he could do. Her cybernetic hand around his throat would crush his windpipe in the time it would take to snap her fingers.

“One moment of carelessness was all it took, and I was outside of the ship without a suit. The next thing I knew, he was there. I had a suit, if an emergency one, and air… only with what limited supplies we had it meant the only supply of air was his,” she told him and the arm was used to gesture at the ship. “I watched him slip away and didn’t even realize that was what happened. By the time we were on the ship… he was already dead and gone. A corpse holding my suit together and who gave me his air so I’d live.”

“I’m sorry,” said V’lojiek. “I can’t imagine.”

“It took me… I still can’t look my own stepmother, or my father’s friends, in the eyes or face out of my own shame,” she said, closing her eyes. “I can’t even look who I suspect told Jarvis to send me out here in the first place in the eyes either. I know what he’s up to… what he’s hoping will happen.”  
She shrugged. “And maybe he’s right too.”

“Fathers do…”

She turned to face him, and he could see barely suppressed anger rise in her green eyes. “Don’t. Don’t go there, V’lo. Just don’t.”

“Captain to the bridge,” came Jay’s voice over the all call system. “We are in low orbit, as ordered.”

“That’s my cue,” she said.

“Yeah, I believe it is.”

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/FDZ4-A IX - Moon 6**  
**Society of Conscious Thought School**  
**The _Invictus_**  
**March 13th, YC102**

Meredith paced in her cramped quarters. Out the window, approximately one hundred and twenty kilometers away, sat an outpost. The _Invictus_ hovered between the moon and the station, cloaked and unseen by eye or sensor scans.

Jarvis watched her pace. “I didn’t realize that the crew would question you so openly.”

“I was expecting it,” she admitted and she stopped long enough to face him. “I’m more surprised that you didn’t.”

“It’s not unexpected.”

“So, you knew.”

“Yes… it was something we discussed when you were selected for this. But I… we… knew you could handle it. That you were right for this. The crew was right for this,” Jarvis said, as he leaned back in the chair. “Professor en Thielles, this is only the first mission. I know any others in the future are only going to be more challenging but at the same time none of us can think of another person to do what you do.”

“And just what is that?” she asked. “I’m an Astrogeologist, Mr. Cipher. My experience as a combat pilot, or even as a commander on a ship meant for combat, is limited.”

“In the words of our now mutual friend—you are your father’s daughter.”

Meredith froze, and then her eyes thinned. Jarvis leaned back suddenly as if suddenly pushed away. “And what mutual friend would that be?”

“One that knows that you have experience flying a prospect in wormhole space—and coming out of it alive with mission data in hand,” he answered. “Think of it this way. Now you have a prospect with some very large teeth… and a crew that is able to use it. The question is what you intend to do with that.”

Meredith sighed, but she could see his point. This wasn’t the first time she had worked for the Society of Conscious Thought. More like the… honestly, she had lost count she had been with them so long. Had flown that many missions, both as a commander and as a researcher on the crew. What little combat training and experience she had when she had ran around with her father only served to hone those skills.

She closed her eyes, trying to erase the image of her father floating lifelessly in space, eyes blind to the stars and life itself. Never to look in her direction—or her infant brother.  
One mistake.

And not only was she without a father but so was her brother. Small wonder her father’s friends refused to even talk to her. She couldn’t blame them.

But Jarvis was right about that at least.

She had learned her lesson enough to command the _Invictus_. The lesson had been gouged into her heart and soul, but she had learned it.

“I… understand,” she answered. “Reluctantly, but I see your point. And his.”

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/FDZ4-A IX - Moon 6**  
**Society of Conscious Thought School**  
**The _Invictus_**  
**March 13th, YC102**

The SoCT agent stared at Meredith for what seemed like an eternity before she finally said, “And they sent you.”

“Odd, I know,” said Meredith. “But apparently, between everyone on this ship, we have what your people need to figure this out.”

“It’s not that I don’t welcome the help,” admitted the agent. “Forgive me, I’m a bit short because the incident has sent shock waves throughout our ranks and the fact that someone higher up felt the need to call for an outsider seems… unusual.”

“Let’s start over,” suggested Meredith. “My name is Professor Meredith en Thielles, Astrogeology and…”

“He sent _you_?” the agent cut in, her eyebrows lifting. “I have a sudden understanding of why you’re here. Very well, let’s do start over. My name is Audodart Brunckennuc of the Society of Conscious Thought School, mostly I’m here for new registrations and intake but with the big shake-up, it appears I’m liaising for those who have worked with us in the past… and worked with… our sponsors… in the past as well.”

Meredith watched as V’lojiek and Gina exchanged looks, before he kept his eyes on her.

It was no secret that the very sponsors, and founders, of the Society were the Jovians. Meredith knew it before she had worked with them. _Has it been nearly ten years?_ she mused. “It’s not something I usually advertise.”

“Yes, well,” Audodart shrugged. “Would figure since whatever it is you’re currently sitting in has a hell of a cloak on it. No signature when you warped in means it’s extremely advanced, dare I say more so than the prototype ones that have been kicking around?”

“Can’t say.” Meredith grinned, and then she turned serious again. “Now, Mr. Cipher said you had more details for us or at least an answer on where we’re going next.”

“I think you have someone in your brig,” pointed out Audodart. “Someone who belongs to us.”

“That’s why I’m talking now. We need clearance to dock, Audodart, and in this area of space I need to know that we won’t get shot down the minute we come out of cloak.”

“Ah, yes, I have a sudden understanding,” said Audodart, and she turned to a console and typed in a few commands. “There, you’ve been marked as friendly. Our guns and ships won’t shoot you. However, we have seen traffic in and out that we’re not overly familiar with—as usual. Those unknowns I can’t guarantee won’t shoot you.”

“Understood,” said Meredith and she looked over at Jay. “Okay, warp us back to our safe mark, and then warp us in on the insta-dock Jarvis gave us and take us in.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The loki shifted in inertia as they jumped into warp to retreat back to their ‘safe’ a few million kilometers away from the station, and then realigned, and warped back. Upon landing on the bookmark given to them, the ship dropped out of cloak and was guided into the station nearly instantly by the tow tractors.

Despite this, it still took a few minutes to transfer from docking entry to finally be towed into their docking collar. A tiny rattle throughout the ship gave away that the ship was now locked down in dock.

Jay looked up from his console. “Umbilicals are green, and station tells us the airlocks are ready to go for disembarking. Ms. Brunckennuc is already waiting at the primary airlock for you, Captain.”

“Mr. Nye, how many times do I have to tell you that I prefer ‘Professor’ to ‘Captain’?” asked Meredith, with a bit of a snort.

Jay grinned. “A few more times and I’ll still call you Captain.”

“Smart ass,” she tossed back at him as she left the bridge.

“Best part about me,” he said and when he looked over at Gina the eye roll he saw was well worth it. “What?”

“She’s going to kick your smart ass from here back to Jita if you keep that up,” pointed out Gina.

“Worth it.”

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/FDZ4-A IX - Moon 6**  
**Society of Conscious Thought School**  
**The _Invictus_ — Brig**  
**March 13th, YC102**

The man sitting in her brig was neither young or old. As usual when she laid eyes on a Jove, Meredith felt her skin almost crawl as the black and expressionless eyes set within the gray skinned face stared past her.

“I understand that we have arrived at our destination,” he stated.

“You have,” she answered. “Your new home waits.”

“I fully understand.”

Meredith lifted a brow. Even for a Jovian he didn’t play the part of a prisoner very well. Not for the first time she had to wonder if he wasn’t a prisoner at all and the entire thing was a feint. As she crinkled her brows he inclined his head. “All due respect, while I understand I have very little say here, I would prefer to get it over sooner than later,” he said.

“Do you really have no control here?” she murmured.

She had the satisfaction of seeing his neutral expression slip briefly to astonishment before the near perfect poker face slammed back into place. The door behind her opened, and he shook his head before settling in his cell again.

_Dammit, Jarvis, I hate it when you send me into something with zero clue on what’s really going on_ , she thought.

The other person, Audodart stepped into the brig and stared at the prisoner for a long moment before she looked at Meredith. “Never had to deal with a renegade of your kind before,” said the Society agent.

“Never been a renegade of us before,” he answered. “We are afforded certain benefits of a certain amount of independence—to a point. It appears my brethren feel I have overstepped even those bounds. If you prefer, Professor en Thielles here could continue to contain me but I think our mutual associates would prefer me being delivered as contracted.”

“He’s all yours,” said Meredith. “The sooner the better.”

“I fully understand your misgivings,” said Audodart, and she tapped in a few commands into her datapad. “All right, step away from the barrier and keep your hands where we can see them.”

He inclined his head, but held his hands out and did as they asked. The forcefield fell and Audodart stepped forward, easily slipping the titanium bonds around his wrists and then behind his back. A similar set were locked around his ankles, and the two were chained together, limiting his ability to move. A low hum gave away that there was also a powered controller, perhaps even a stun or—should it be necessary—a kill switch within those bonds.

Audodart and a full contingent of guards led him out of the brig, but not before he was allowed to pause. “Captain en Thielles, please let me express my sincerest condolences.”

“For what?” she asked.

“I… I knew your father,” he answered quietly, and then as he was pushed forward. “Not all was as it appeared, Meredith! Some things were not disclosed.”

She blinked, but by then the Jovian renegade was gone. Meredith looked up and then shook her head, a nervous laugh coming from her. Audodart returned, her prisoner now off the ship. “Don’t let the bastard get to you,” she said. “He’s been known to use psychological methods to shake people’s resolve to get away.”

“Even if he’s right, there’s not much that he could say that would fix that anyway,” answered Meredith, and she took the datapad from Audodart. “What’s this?”

“Your fee for transport.” Audodart lifted a brow. “Surely you don’t think you work for us for free, do you?”

“Nothing in New Eden comes for free.”

“Good.” Audodart put a hand on her hips. “Now, for the next part of your contract with us. Taking me to Mining colony T1 in MR4-MY.”

“You’re coming with us?” asked Meredith.

“I am the investigator that your contract refers to,” she answered. “I have taken the liberty of having my travel kit brought on board… don’t worry, I travel lightly. Just need a bunk and I’ll even make myself useful.”

* * *

 

**ACT THREE**

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining colony T1 — High Orbit**  
**March 18th, YC102**

Meredith stared out of the forward view screen at the planet below. There was very little in the way of landmarks to even tell where things were, especially at this distance. Even had they been below the clouds, all they would have seen—if the near constant blizzard let up enough to show sky and sun—was a blanket of white with only black and silver rocks poking from beneath the snow. The problem was that the planet never did see clear skies.

The blizzard never let up enough to break the constant cloud cover.

The wind never stopped howling and never dropped under the blistering hurricane speed and force. The temperatures never rose above freezing and were often cold enough to freeze human skin within moments if left exposed, stripping the breath from the lungs.

The environment wasn’t just inhospitable, it was deadly. Special suits made for the environment had to be worn to survive it and the colony was doubly protected under the domes covering it as well as each home was able to be sealed just in case the domes ever failed.

From above, all Meredith and the crew of the Invictus could see of the planet was a constant swirl of white and gray.

“So, where did they find this guy?” asked V’lojiek.

“According to the report, they found him outside of the dome,” said Meredith.

Jay snorted. “More like on it—some poor sap looked up and there was this frozen corpse on the dome. Not sure if the impact or the cold killed him first.”  
Meredith looked up at Jay and lifted her brows. “Say that again?”

“He was on the dome?” asked Jay, as his own brows crinkled.

“No, the part about the fall or the cold.”

“Well, he wasn’t in a suit—not an environmental one anyway—and from the pictures it looked like he landed there. The impact would have shattered his bones if the freezing cold didn’t shatter him first,” said Jay, but he brought up the pictures. “I’m no medical expert, but that looks like he was dropped out of something.”

“Meaning he was alive when he was dropped out of it,” said V’lojiek. “Or just had been killed moments before the drop.”

“He didn’t walk out of the dome,” mused Meredith, tapping her fingers on her lower lip. “I don’t think he was in the dome in the first place. No one knows who he was or remembered seeing him. That was the first thing in the report. No identification and no one to identify him.”

“No identification means whatever was on him was taken,” said Gina, dropping another folder. “I’m suddenly getting a bad feeling I know why they sent us. Someone’s intelligence royally bullocks up an op and we’re here to find out not only who, but who they were after. We’re here to plug a mole hole.”

“Whose mole was he, though?” Meredith leaned back in her chair. “Ours… or theirs?”

“Ours,” answered Audodart as she ducked her head to enter the cramped bridge of the Loki. “The real question is what, of ours, did he lose and who has it now.”

“Hell of a hole in security you have there,” said Meredith.

Audodart sighed. “Yeah, we know.”

“Anything to do with that ‘guest’ we just passed on to you?”

“No,” answered Audodart. “That was just a courier job you completed on time. I’d be really surprised if he was related to this.”  
Meredith hummed, and then leaned back in her chair. “All right, well there’s no point in hanging around up here when we have a job to do. Jay, contact their landing control and let them know we’re here and we need a docking collar.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Meredith rolled her eyes and chose to ignore it, at least in front of Audodart. She would eventually have to re-educate Jay Nye with what her actual job description was. When Audodart finally left the bridge, Meredith grinned, looked in his direction, and remarked, “Professor.”

“Captain Professor.”

“Oh lord,” she groaned, letting her head sink until her forehead rested in the palm of her hand.

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining Colony T1 — Docking Collar**  
**March 18th, YC102**

Meredith knew the sudden decloaking of the Loki had caused a stir when it appeared on scan. The colony wasn’t military and even military personnel found an unfamiliar ship suddenly popping up where one hadn’t been before, and so close, more than a bit unnerving.

Some civilians had been spooked, and she could see a few of them run for cover as they had flown in. Others gathered and watched in curiosity at the ship’s strange configuration.

The Minmatar had a reputation when it came to shipbuilding.

Haphazard, built from what they could find when they ran from slavery. Their ships often had a patina of what looked like rust—but actually wasn’t. The colour came from one of the metals used in the formation of the alloy and actually lent their ships strength which was how their ships could support panels of steel glass. It was much like the gold of the Amarr ships, only red and dull.

However, it didn’t mean there weren’t quirks in the earlier ships that lent credibility to the rumour that the rusty red was actually corrosion.

Faulty plumbing that didn’t always go where it needed to, or was unnecessarily complex. Dodgy wiring. The newer ships were not plagued by these issues as they had long since been ironed out but the reputation remained.

The Loki-class ship had been designed and built long after the initial exodus from Amarr space. Instead of rushed engineering done in the middle of escape, proper time and consideration had been given to the ship’s design and execution.

Meredith had lived and worked on Minmatar ships from both ends of the spectrum.

Her first experience with Minmatar ships was… years ago… shortly after she had started working with the Society of Conscious Thought. She was still surprised that after that failure they still were willing to talk to her let alone employ her. She suspected it had something to do with who was actually pulling Mr. Cipher’s strings.

A nearly imperceptible bump signaled the Invictus landing in the spaceport’s dock. Unlike a station, or even a citadel, the dock here required a physical touchdown using the _Invictus_ ’s landing gear.

The dome above closed and the wind stopped howling. The cycling red lights slowly stopped, and a solid green one lit once the doors were confirmed closed and locked above.  
Meredith watched, leaning on the rail and looking through the forward view port of the Invictus, as drones came out to clean the outside of the ship of any contamination.  
The colony was a sealed habitation.

“I’m guessing we’re going to get the royal scrub down if we intend to walk around out there, eh?” asked V’lojiek.

“Yep.”

“Any ideas on just what we’re doing here?” asked Jay. “I mean, if the murder was above the surface then this was just a convenient dumping site. No one here is going to know anything.”

“I know, but I get the feeling there was something else about here that the murder, or murderers, wanted. The location itself was no accident.”

“Someone knows something they don’t know that they know,” said Gina as she ducked her head to enter the bridge. “How wonderfully complicated. Anyway, the dock master has given his clearance for us to disembark, should we choose. There’s already an airlock collar on the ship to the breezeway into the colony.”

“Very good,” said Meredith. “Let our guest know it’s time we went for a walk outside of the ship. Set a rotating shore leave for the crew, but keep things short and sweet without too many of them out at the same time.”

“Aye, Captain,” agreed Gina. “I’ve already taken the liberty of doing so.”

Meredith fought the urge to roll her eyes. Unlike when Jay said it, Gina meant it as a term of respect and because she had no idea what else to call her captain. The habit of calling the person in charge of the ship its captain was too ingrained in the former Minmatar Fleet officer to call her anything else but captain.

Jay was a bit different and Meredith was never sure if she wanted to slap him into next week or lock him up in a dark room for a while to cool off.

Meredith blinked, and rubbed her eyes.

This entire trip had left her too far off balance and entertaining that thought with someone she barely even knew was the first sign of that.

She led the way to the air lock just behind the bridge, and Audodart was already waiting for her. Meredith looked back at Gina, who nodded. “I have the bridge,” acknowledged

Gina and she returned back to the bridge.

Meredith turned back to Audodart and gestured for the woman to lead the way into the airlock. Jay followed them both in and took a place just behind Meredith’s left shoulder, crossing his arms but not relaxing as he did. In the reflective glass of the airlock, he looked like a menacing figure guarding her from danger. All hint of sardonic humour vanished, leaving a silent knot of muscle with no smile and hard eyes. V’lojiek was just behind her right shoulder. Slightly taller than Jay, and a bit older, and thinner, but he still crossed his arms the same way and his face took on the same stony expression.

_I hope it’s only for show_ , she mused. _I would rather them just be a deterrent, not an actual need_.

Between the two of them she felt tiny, but she wasn’t exactly tall to begin with. Jay wasn’t exactly a tall man either, but was still a good five centimeters taller. V’lojiek, on the other hand, was head and shoulders taller than she was and towered over her.

The decontamination process started, it wasn’t like years ago when they would have been showered by de-ionized and distilled water and alcohol, having to strip naked to shower and have clothing sent through the same process… assuming they chose to do that to just wear what was supplied. The process now was dry and done with both ultraviolet light and a gaseous spray that left her skin feeling a bit parched and dry.

The inside door turned green.

Meredith sighed, knowing it would be another two steps to go.

She hated this part of space travel.

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining Colony T1 — Docking Bay Lounge and Receiving**  
**March 18th, YC102**

The colony leader was a nervous man. He was not exactly rail thin—quite the opposite, actually. This was unusual as the tendency to gain weight to the point of being obese in New Eden was a rare and recessive genetic trait that was dying out.

Between food packs and diet being engineered to meet the needs of the body, plus properly purge what needed to be, as well as regular check-up with a doctor and even drugs and boosters capable of burning fat off almost anyone’s frame in a matter of weeks with very little need for exercise… well, Mayor Denol Markinal was a rare and dying breed.

Presuming his rotundness was due to a hereditary trait and not just the tendency to eat more than the very plainly labeled caloric limit for each day.

The sudden appearance of the Loki-class vessel, whether or not it had been broadcasting SoCT identification codes along with its name and registration, had panicked the population. If he wasn’t so afraid of who or what would exit the docking collar and come out of the decontamination, he would have been prepared to give them a piece of his mind.

The problem was he was as unsettled by them as everyone else. He had been since that poor child had looked up and saw the body outside of the dome.

The door indicator turned green.

He let out a sigh of relief, but was quick to suck it back in when the doors cycled open.

The first person he noticed was at least someone he knew. “Audodart!” he exclaimed, relieved. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you, and… uh…”

His eyes fell on the other woman, shorter than him by at least a few centimeters and not thin like Audodart. She wasn’t fat either—but muscular like a pit bull. Slightly broader shoulders than he was used to seeing on a woman, rounder face like most Gallente he had meant, but her cheekbones clearly screamed that someone in her family tree was Caldari and not just any Caldari but Deteis on top of that. Her eyes could only be described as steel green—green, but with hints of coolness instead of the warmth that green eyes normally held. Again, this was a trait of the Deteis.

She wasn’t unattractive, but the willowy and lithe form of the Gallente was absent and still there in places.

She was dressed in a pair of black cargo style pants, a sensible set of boots underneath her hemmed pants. From under the edge of her black and red leather jacket was a robotic prosthetic hand instead of a flesh one for her left hand, but her right appeared normal and natural. As he eye traveled up, he saw, from where the neckline of her t-shirt that the prosthetic actually was all the way up past her shoulder. Her dark hair was kept short, and she wore glasses.

He had no idea what had happened to require a prosthetic as far as this one went, and he didn’t really want to know. The glasses made him raise his brows—like obesity, glasses were now a pure cosmetic choice.

He looked past her and her two guards.

There was no other way to describe them. They weren’t there to protect Audodart, that much was clear, not with the way they had placed themselves just behind the captain of the Invictus. They stood just behind her, one at each shoulder, and kept with arms reach and in almost perfect step with her.

“Madam, welcome to M4R-MY Six,” he greeted, giving her a slight nod in greeting.

“Denol, this is Captain Meredith en Thielles of the _Invictus_ , and two of her crew, Mr. V’lojiek Anstian and Mr. Jay Nye,” introduced Audodart. “Mere, this is Denol Markinal, the mayor of this colony.”

“Denol,” said Meredith, and the harshness vanished, leaving a sparkly personality as she finally smiled and offered her hand to be shook, and he accepted. “Nice to meet you. I understand you found yourself in a situation a bit outside your sphere of knowledge.”

“Captain, you can certainly say that again,” he said, allowing himself another sigh of relief.

Meredith was only cool and aloof on the surface, he was relieved to note, but warm if professional once introductions had been made. “It’s Meredith, please, but if you insist on using any title at all I actually prefer Professor.”

He lifted his brows. “Really?”

“Meredith is a professor at Caille, Denol. Astrogeology and Surveying, bit of a minor in the study of wormholes as well,” explained Audodart. “Serves as a bit of a ‘reservist’ with us, though.”

He blew out a breath. “Interesting.”

* * *

 

**The Forge/Ihatalo/Reisen VI**  
**Creodon Factory Station**  
**March 18th, YC102**

While reading reports were not always on the top of his list of favourite things to do in life, it was necessary to keep on top of everything. The problem was that the reports he wanted were often the ones he didn’t see enough of while being flooded with the ones that were inane.

But today was actually different.

That was the other reason, Jarvis was sure, that his colleague had specifically picked Meredith en Thielles. While her combat experience was shaky at best—more like she didn’t have any except for a few engagements where she wisely chose to slip away to safety to let ships with bigger weapon suites take care of the issues.

Or had served on frigates as support and scouting.

But even then her experience had been to scout ahead, and let bigger ships handle anything found.

The Loki-class was a brawler, when set up correctly. It was unusual for SoCT to entrust that kind of investment in a captain with next to no actual combat experience. However, the _Invictus_ wasn’t exactly set up for brawling, let along tackling. The modules currently on it were mostly for scanning, slipping through gate camps, and cloaking while moving as quickly as possible. It’s not that it didn’t still have teeth—it definitely did—but it was set up in a configuration more to someone like Meredith.  
He just hoped that SoCT, and their sponsors, had picked the right person. All he knew of her was from a file.

Not like his colleague who knew her personally.

He had to wonder if that personal connection clouded the older man’s judgment but he wasn’t known for letting personal entanglements affect him. There had been a similar situation almost a decade before where they all had questioned that, but in the end it had been proved mostly false.

But there were rumours that the relationship here ran deeper, and if those were true it was a hell of an age gap.

Wouldn’t be the first time someone was romantically involved with someone else in their command chain, and it wouldn’t be the last.

However, with the Servant Sisters of Eve breathing down their necks and looking to encroach into their own purview they couldn’t afford the complications.

Jarvis had been relieved when his colleague decided to hand things over to him. It removed the older man from the direct chain of command and removed the possible conflict of interest.

Even if it hadn’t been the real reason for doing so.

Meredith herself would haver refused out of a mistaken sense of failure. She would have been too ashamed to show her face anywhere near her former colleague. She didn’t even know he still was involved, if he worked for SoCT or their sponsors. For all she knew, her former lover and colleague wasn’t involved.

His assistant came in and stood to the side of his desk. “I have a new report from the _Invictus_. They landed on the planet and have made direct contact with the colony’s administrator. Professor en Thielles has a few interesting theories.”

“I’m sure she does,” said Jarvis, taking the data pad from his assistant. “As I suspected—our murderer or assassin is mobile. That complicates things.”

“The Invictus may have a bit of a chase on their hands?”

“I don’t think I’d go quite that far,” answered Jarvis, and he leaned back in his chair. “While true, it’s not necessarily her chase to make. The better course would be to let her continue her investigation on the ground and perhaps even find another to investigate those leads.”

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining Colony T1**  
**March 18th, YC102**

Meredith tried not to watch Denol too closely. Each time her eyes fell on him, even to speak to him, he seemed to develop a sheen on his forehead and he would start to stammer. Instead, she let Audodart take the lead.

It wasn’t until she stood in the lift to his office, and saw how both V’lojiek and Jay flanked her, that she realized it wasn’t just those two—she was as intimidating. Her ship was intimidating. Everything about them probably had his heart racing in his chest.

Meredith sighed, and when Audodart and Denol went into the office she looked at Jay and V’lojiek. “Can you guys perhaps dial down the whole intimidation thing down a few notches?”

“He did seem like he was sweating,” said Jay, grinning.

“Yeah, not the effect I wanted.”

“What effect are we looking for?” asked V’lojiek.

Meredith thought for a moment. “I want him to trust us—trust that we can help him. The show of strength and that we can handle ourselves is fine but we also need to show that we’re willing to listen and help him.”

The two looked at each other and nodded.

Meredith turned back to the lift as the door open, inwardly smiling as two boys came running out of it, followed by a tired looking woman. The woman stopped, gathering the boys back to her. Meredith held up her hand. “Whoa, wait. We’re here to help.”

“You’re the ones that came in on that Minmatar ship,” said the woman.

“I’m Captain en Thielles, and yes, the _Invictus_ is my ship. This is my x-o, V’lojiek Anstian, and my pilot, Jay Nye.”

The woman shook their hands, the boys still clinging to her legs. “I’m Marta Markinal, and these two are Jaseth and Willem.”

“We’ll do our best to find out what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said V’lojiek, his voice taking on a softer tone. “I understand that it wasn’t the greatest experience for anyone.”

Marta shook her head.

“Did you see the dead body yet?” asked the older one, Jaseth.

Meredith knelt down to his height so she could look him in the eye on his level. “We haven’t had that chance yet. I’m guessing Denol is your father?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they both said.

“I have a daughter around your age,” she said, ignoring both Jay and V’lojiek’s surprised glances to each other behind her back, despite it being reflected in the near mirror like walls of the reception area. “It must be hard with your father always being busy.”

The boys shrugged, but they had relaxed enough—as had Marta—to stop hiding behind their mother and come around her to talk to Meredith. “What’s her name?” asked Marta.  
Meredith looked up. “Ruby.”

One of the boys had noticed her arm, and she lifted it so he could see it. “Did it hurt?” he asked.

“For awhile, yes,” she answered. “But it was a very long time ago so I don’t really notice this anymore. I wasn’t much older than either of you.”

The office doors opened, and Denol paused as he watched. Meredith looked over and when she made eye contact with him this time he didn’t shy away. If anything, she saw surprise but no fear of her.

Meredith fought the grin, but kept her expression neutral, letting Jaseth and Willem lead the conversation. Finally, she smiled at the two boys, tapping each on the nose before she stood up. “Okay, much as I wish I could continue the conversation, duty calls.”

“Can you talk more later?” asked Jaseth.

She lifted her brows. “I think that’d be up to your parents.”

“Can we see your ship?” asked Willem.

V’lojiek leaned his head back and laughed, one full of joy as he poked Meredith in the shoulder. “You can’t tell me you didn’t see that question coming an AU away, Mere.”

Meredith snorted, and answered, “Definitely something you’d have to ask your parents.”

“And definitely something we can discuss when we are better situated to ask it,” he pointed out. “The ship itself can be seen quite clearly from the receiving lounge in the docking sphere. It’s the only ship there and we gave it priority, so it is quite close and with very little obstructing the view.”

“Not sure if the Society would allow me to bring them on board, anyway, much of what’s on board is highly classified,” answered Meredith. “But they are more than welcome to see in the docking collar.”

“I could take them as far the interior airlock to take a few holos, but there’s the decontamination they’d have to go through,” said Jay, and he shook his head. “Not exactly worth it.”

“No, it wouldn’t be,” agreed Denol, and he inclined his head. “But pictures in front of it from the docking lounge are more than I could have expected.”

He turned to his family. “I should be too much longer, I’ll see you all at home, unless you’re at the docks taking pictures,” he said, kissing his wife and ruffling his two son’s hair.

When the three left the offices with Jay, he motioned for Meredith to follow him and Audodart back into the office. Meredith motioned to V’lojiek to stay outside the door, and he nodded as he crossed his arms to the right of the door.

The doors closed and Meredith fought a sigh as she sat across from Denol in the other chair in front of the desk. Audodart sat in the second chair on the same side of the desk. “I won’t lie, and while you seem to have a kinder side, I won’t say that I welcome the presence of an obvious black ops ship, and crew, into my space. I have no idea what else, or who else, is sitting above our colony.”

“We both work for the same people, Denol,” pointed out Audodart. “You signed that agreement with us, remember?”

Denol sighed heavily. “Had I known the extent of how much we would have to sacrifice for what we’d get, I don’t know if I would have signed the agreement. The location isn’t just dangerous, it’s deadly.”

“No worse than high sec,” pointed out Meredith. “War can touch anyone in the blink of an eye. My parents found that out the hard way, my father more than once.”

“All due respect, Professor en Thielles, your family is well known for being Syndicate.”

Meredith shook her head. “My mother left that part of her family behind before I was born. I was raised in Minmatar space, and then close to Bourynes—not Intaki… and definitely not Syndicate. If you’re questioning my loyalty to the Society based on family connections, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

His eyes thinned. “You sound Caldari now.”

“You’d be right—my father was Caldari.”

His eyes rose by quite a bit. “Really?” he said. “That explains quite a bit about why you’d prefer not to choose sides for either nation then.”

He sighed heavily and looked over at Audodart, who replied, “Don’t look at me. I just know she was assigned to me by head office… perhaps even higher—to our sponsors, if you catch my drift.”

Denol blinked, but inclined his head. “Don’t want to know, and probably better I don’t.”

Meredith snorted. “Makes the three of us. Now, I need to know a few details before I can move onto the next step of my investigation—”

“—Our investigation, Professor,” corrected Audodart.

“Yes, right, our investigation,” continued Meredith. “Did the victim have any associates here?”

“Not that I know of,” answered Denol. “We already ran his identification. He didn’t even come through the lock. If he was on a ship that landed here, he never disembarked.”

“He didn’t contact anyone?” asked Meredith, pausing for a second. “No one received any communications at the same time?”

“I would I know that?” asked Denol, his voice rising. “I don’t make a habit of listening in on my people’s lives. That’d be an invasion of privacy.”

Meredith opened her mouth again, but Audodart put a hand on her arm. “Could you ask around?” asked Audodart. “What my colleague here is thinking is that perhaps someone talked to him.”

“And if they did, they could be the next one in danger,” pointed out Meredith, her voice soft, but Denol heard her.

He cringed and then leaned back in his chair. “That is… a frightening prospect, but, no… I don’t know who talked to him. I could ask around, quietly, if he was familiar.”

Meredith stood, and Audodart followed, her brows rising in surprised that Meredith cut the interview short. “That’s all we’re asking.”

* * *

 

**ACT FOUR**

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining Colony T1**  
**March 20th, YC102**

Meredith paced in the guest quarters she had been given. Denol had not told her everything and the more she thought about it the more she was sure that he had been the victim’s contact.

Or someone he knew had been.

_His wife_ , she realized, and she stopped dead in her tracks. _Dammit, dammit, dammit_ …

If it was his wife, then that meant she wasn’t just going to have to protect Denol, but the entire family. Whoever felt they needed to silence the victim would perhaps have stopped at Denol but the wife… if she had contacted him at her home then it meant the kids were loose ends too.

Meredith exhaled and her hand was halfway to the door.

If she reported it, then the leak would see to it that what she suspected made it to the murderer that much quicker.

And there was definitely a leak.

She tapped the handle of the door absently.

There was one contact she could trust, and she had the secure connection to speak to him—if the text only contact could be considered speaking, but it was better than nothing.

She walked over to the desk and pulled out the device he had given her, tapping on the screen once. It came to life, and for a moment it searched for a signal. This only took seconds, and the screen flickered once before the icon indicating he was there, and ready, to be spoken to.

She took a breath.

She hadn’t contacted him since… since her father had died. She had never had reason to and he had kept his distance.

_Meredith, this is a surprise_.

_I know_ , she replied. _But I need someone I can trust to bounce ideas off of_.

_And you thought of me?_ Came his reply. _I am very flattered, and more than a bit alarmed if you felt you needed to confide in me. But I will do what I can. What has happened?_

_Look in your own files_ , she typed back. _I know you have the clearances. You’re higher up in the food chain than Jarvis is_.

_Ah. That_.

Meredith leaned back, surprised for a moment. He already knew that she was here—perhaps even why she was here. Her eyes thinned as she typed her next reply. _Oh, you know about that, do you?_

_Now you sound like your father shortly after I first met him_.

_And he was right about you then, from what you both told me. How right am I this time?_

There was a perceptible pause before he replied. _And like him, you would be correct in your assumption. I am indeed in the loop where it regards your current mission_. _However, my direct involvement could be construed as a… ah… a conflict of interest. That is why I contacted Mr. Cipher to act in my stead_.

Meredith nearly dropped the tablet to the floor as she realized the wily old codger had outmaneuvered her again. _You hired Jarvis_ , she stated. _Should I understand that I should trust him as I trust you?_

_Quite_ , he answered. _Mere… you did not contact me to argue. You contacted me because you have a problem. Let me do what I can from here but, after this… unless it is personal… you will need to talk to Mr. Cipher instead of me_.

_You’re right_ , she replied. _My problem is that I know there’s a leak and if I contact or report my suspicions—much as I need to in order to complete this investigation—then the person our victim contacted is dead soon after. And there are children involved_.

The pause was so long after this she almost thought he had left his computer. But moments later he returned. _I see, this does complicate matters by quite a bit. I can report your findings to Mr. Cipher and he can surreptitiously send support, but even that carries a certain amount of risk for the victim’s contact. Are you quite sure your suspicions regarding the leak are correct?_

  
_Not completely, but things aren’t adding up_.

_Understood, Meredith_ , he replied. _And well done. You did right to contact me directly with this_.

_Quin_ …

_Yes?_

_How are my brother and my step-mother?_

_They are fine, and they both miss you_ , he answered. _My dear, you did not need to leave the way you did. Even if I understand why, even if they do as well, it still caused quite a bit of pain. Your brother needs his sister_.

_He needs his father more_ , she answered. _And because of me, he doesn’t have him_.

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining Colony T1**  
**March 23rd, YC102**

Meredith held no illusion about the investigation ending quickly even if they managed to find a break. The problem was they didn’t even know who or what they were looking for. She suspected that Denol’s wife knew more than she was willing to say, and that Audodart did as well.

Jay walked in, a cup of coffee in each hand and he set down one cup closest to her. Meredith drank a long pull of the coffee, grasping the warm mug gratefully.

The domes and habitation seals did much to protect them all from the fury of the outside, but it did little to dispel the ever present chill that seeped into the bones as if the planet itself radiated it from its very core.

It probably did.

Meredith was used to warmer climates and often found that even space and space stations felt a little too chilly for her liking. This planet had settled a hook into her like a sore tooth.

“Did you find any clues at all yet?” he asked.

“Clues?” she asked, lifting a brow. “Unless I’m caught in some old mystery noir holo, no.”

“It was just a question,” he pointed out.

“Sorry. I keep getting a request for an update and I’m fresh out of updates. Nothing has moved forward.”

Her tablet chimed, and she looked over at it. Jay lifted a brow, looking at his own neocom, but she knew it wasn’t a general ship call.

Her contact had come through.

Meredith read the mail, pushing Jay away before he could see who it was from. He sat back in the chair and waited her out and watched as her brows crinkled further and further together.

She closed the mail and returned her neocom screen back to the screensaver and leaned back on the couch in her room.

“Well?” he asked.

“I need to talk, privately, with Denol’s wife,” she said, and he pointed at him to sit back down. “No, I need to make the contact. Mother to mother.”

She stood up and walked out of the rooms.

It was early in the afternoon in the colony. The children would likely still be in school, leaving Marta alone at home or perhaps even out in the markets shopping.

Meredith bought a coffee at a stall in the large open area below the main dome, and waited. As she suspected, Marta was making her way through the stalls, a bag on one arm. Meredith moved through the stalls herself, looking as if she were browsing, but ambling her way toward the woman.

Finally, she bumped into Marta and the two women looked at each other in surprise while Meredith tried to wipe off a bit of the spilled coffee off her own jacket as she had timed it to be in the middle of sipping her coffee.

The other woman looked horrified as she realized not only who she had bumped into, but that she had spilled Meredith’s coffee.

“Oh, no…” said Marta, rushing to help her sop up the coffee on the leather jacket. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see you there.”

“It’s fine,” said Meredith. “I should have been watching where I was going.”

“At least let me buy you another coffee,” insisted Marta.

“Well, all right,” agreed Meredith, smiling.

She followed Marta over to the coffee stall and let Marta buy the coffee, sitting down opposite of her. “I’m still mortified,” pointed out Marta.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Meredith, shaking her head. “It’s more my fault. Didn’t realize you were that close when I turned around.”

“I’m sorry?” Marta leaned back, her eyes widening. “You were watching me the entire time?”

“Yeah,” admitted Meredith.

“Am I suspect?”

“No,” answered Meredith, and she set down the coffee. “A witness, maybe, but not a suspect.”

“Then why talk to me here… oh.” Meredith nodded as Marta made the connection. “You wanted it to look like we accidentally bumped into each other… you know then.”

“I don’t know, but I suspect,” confirmed Meredith. “What happened to the victim? What’s his name?”

“His name is… unimportant…” answered Marta. “But he didn’t work for your people. He worked for your sponsors—so to speak.”

“The Jove,” said Meredith, nodding and when Marta looked surprised she continued. “Worked with them before.”

“Then you’re who he said may come after this,” said Marta. “I don’t have it with me.”

“Don’t need it anyway,” said Meredith. “Just need a direction to look in. What am I looking for, Marta? What do you know that got him killed?”

“Someone in the Society isn’t who they say they are.”

Meredith snorted. “Describes easily most of us.”

“No, I mean this kind of thing could not only get them booted out, but perhaps even killed. They aren’t working for the Society at all but someone else.”

“You mean a spy,” realized Meredith, as the dots began to connect. “And they’re not just looking for Society secrets, but Jovian.”

“Exactly,” answered Marta, but she shrugged. “At least, that’s what I suspect. All I know is that I stumbled on the background of this person—or the lack thereof. One minute they didn’t exist and the next they did… in the Society.”

“So who are they and why did they hide it,” said Meredith. “Even from the Society who is known to accept anyone from anywhere.”

Marta nodded.

“Who is this person?” asked Meredith.

Marta shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, I have the background, but not who.”

“Then how do you even know there’s a background?” asked Meredith.

“It’s in how the data comes together.” Marta leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I have the first part of it. The background—the link—but it’s just a jumbled mess of encryption. But to him, it was useful. His case had the decryption ability to read it. All I did was pass in on.”

Meredith thought for a moment.

Even if Marta didn’t know what she had passed on, it was enough to get her killed. She was still a loose end—someone who had found the data and knew it existed. “Marta, I need you to buy me another coffee and we’re going to talk about our kids for awhile.”

“Why?”

“Because you bumped into me and gave me a bath in my coffee, and we both have kids… gives us both a believable excuse if anyone comes asking. And it’s not a lie if we actually do it.”

Marta nodded. “I get it. Give me a second.”

* * *

 

**The Forge/Ihatalo/Reisen VI**  
**Creodon Factory Station**  
**March 23rd, YC102**

The blinking light on the neocom interface in his desk was the first thing Jarvis Cipher saw when he walked into his office. The slow amble forgotten, he moved briskly to tap on the waiting message.

He set his tea down slowly, trying not to spill it as he thought about what he was reading.

“Well, holy crap,” he breathed. “The old man wasn’t wrong about you.”

Professor Meredith en Thielles may not have delivered exactly what they were looking for but the lead provided was far more than he had expected in so little time.

He closed the message, and then tapped out his own reply, and then in another message he authorized the back up she was requesting.

He drank his tea, thinking for a moment before he touched another button on his desk.

“Yes, sir?” came his assistant’s voice.

“Ready my ship,” said Jarvis. “I think it’s finally time we followed Captain en Thielles into Geminate.”

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Mining colony T1**  
**June 1st, YC102**

Meredith took a breath and then said, “Lights on.”

For a moment, the two women stared at each other. The other woman sighed heavily and sat down on the leather armchair in the office. “When did you figure it out?” she asked.

Meredith took a step forward, her gun still trained on the blonde Gallente woman. With a small shake of her head, she answered, “I wasn’t sure at all. You just confirmed it for me.”

“So, now what?” asked Audodart. “You could let me go—I’d even make it worth your while.”

Meredith snorted.

Audodart shook her head. “Didn’t think you would.”

Meredith barely had any time to blink before Audodart lunged for her. She pulled the trigger of her gun, but the shot went wide as Audodart had pushed her hand up and toward the ceiling. An elbow took her in the side of the head, and she staggered back.

Audodart had rolled away and behind the metal wall.

Meredith darted behind another wall. She didn’t think Audodart was armed, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.

“You know, using guns in here is a little insane,” said Audodart. “Just sayin’.”

“Then give yourself up.”

“Fat chance of that, Professor en Thielles,” said Audodart, and then Meredith heard a bark of laughter. “That’s a joke. Professor you may be, but ‘en Thielles’? Using your mother’s maiden name. Interesting way to hide your mixed heritage.”

Meredith shook her head but moved sideways. “What pushed you to betray the Society? It couldn’t have been the money—that little cabal has been bleeding ISK. They couldn’t afford what it would take to flip you.”

“The Society?” Meredith heard Audodart snort. “No, the Society could go hang for all I care. It was what that idiot had on me. If the data on his datapad got out, I was more than finished. I was dead. I am a Blood Raider, Professor, born and raised. I betrayed them… not Society. Society was just a place to hide.”

“So that’s it,” mused Meredith, and she flinched as bits of drywall and dust exploded not far from her head. “And the tests—if you didn’t kill him and take the data then it wouldn’t matter where you went next. Not only would the Society find you, but so would the Raiders.”

“Exactly,” answered Audodart. “Much like you and the Intaki Syndicate, although you hide a bit more in plain sight. Interesting tactic, that one. I wish I’d thought of it myself. Tends to distract from the other half of your heritage if all people focus on is that.”

Meredith ducked down and then over again, following the sound of Audodart’s voice. Rolling under a table, and then jumping up to one knee she aimed her gun squarely at Audodart’s back.

“Who said I was hiding it?” she asked, and Audodart whirled around.

She wasn’t fast enough.

Meredith fired, and the first round hit Audodart in the left shoulder, stopping her whirl to face Meredith and forcing her to spin the other way to land on the floor in a heap. Meredith stood up, and kicked Audodart’s gun away.

In easy distance to kick her down, but out of reach of either arms or legs of the wounded woman, Meredith activated her communicator. “You can come get her now. I recorded her entire confession.”

Audodart blew out a breath and let herself lay flat on the floor, still clutching her wounded shoulder.

“You made one mistake, Audodart,” said Meredith. “I’m not hiding the other half of my heritage from anyone. I don’t deserve any of it. Not what he did, not what he meant. It’s better I’m dead to that family for the shame I brought them.”

The doors opened, and Meredith handed the recorder over to the Society’s investigator as she walked out the door of the apartment and into the street outside.

* * *

 

**Geminate/N-K4Q0/MR4-MY VII**  
**Upper orbit**  
**The Invictus**  
**June 2nd, YC102**

The bridge was deserted.

Empty.

Meredith ran a hand across the back of the command chair, letting it trail down to the arm as she walked to stand beside it.

_The first thing you have to remember about piloting your own ship is that the ship will tell you what it needs_. She remembered that almost like yesterday. It had been one of the first times he had let her actually pilot his ship without it being in simulation mode. _You can do this. Just take it slow_.

“Sound advice in any situation,” she mused.

A rattle, one she knew was made on purpose, sounded from the entrance to the bridge and she turned to face V’lojiek as he leaned on the bulkhead between the bridge and the rest of the ship. “Is this the part when you finally tell me just who the hell you are?”

Meredith shook her head and smiled. “I’m Professor Meredith en Thielles of the Astrogeology Department at Caille Department.” She shrugged and slid into the command chair. “There have been a few instances where I’ve been forced to pay my own way through that education, though. Instances where I worked for people that think they own me… and instances where I worked for people who have my back—and in return I have theirs.”

“The Jovians.”

She nodded. “I’ve worked for more than a few employers, but none were fairer in both terms and generous with back-up when I needed it. In fact, you could say they took over an old contract.”

V’lojiek crinkled his brows as he stepped onto the bridge. “Yeah, I had that experience too—just with a few of their employees, so to speak.”

“I’m guessing Gina.”

“She was my rather interesting introduction, yeah,” he said, with a chuckle. “Jarvis is the other, if you give him half a chance. Who brought you in?”

She frowned and thought about it, before she shook her head. “My father did, and his friends.”

“The same ones who won’t talk to you now?”

She swallowed. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Did you hold the gun to his head?”

Meredith looked down at the deck grating. “No.”

“We all have pasts… demons we’d rather forget, Meredith,” he said, and then he shrugged. “This entire ship and crew has pasts. Even the name of the ship suggests a past. At the same time, it means redemption. If you let it, that is.”

When she didn’t answer him, he sighed and shrugged. He turned around, hitting the same piece of metal as he had kicked before on his way in.

“V’lo.”

He half-turned to look back at her, noticing that she had turned her head enough to watch him leave even if all he could see was her nose and the edge of her glasses. “Yeah?” he asked.

“You remind me of him. A bit. When he was introspective. Serious. Normally, he wasn’t unless he was in that mode he could turn on for either command or as a father,” she said. “Moments where he was more a teacher than the idiot he was equally famous for being.”

“If he’s who I think he was, then I’m halfway honoured by the thought.” V’lojiek chuckled. “Get some rest, Captain. I have a feeling this was only an easy mission. Now that Jarvis knows what we can handle, they won’t be this easy from now on.”


End file.
